The power of social media in preventing diseases

Unilever has taken a more social approach to make charity giving more personal and relevant by partnering with Facebook.

The Waterworks application enables Facebook users to learn of the differences that their donations actually make.

Almost 800 million human beings do not have access to clean drinking water. This is made worse when water-borne diseases pose a major threat to the weakest members of society and leads to a child dying from a water-related illness every 20 seconds. However, this is all preventable.

The partnership between Unilever, Facebook and global health organisation PSI (Population Services International) means safe drinking water can be accessible by more people through utilising the social graph on Facebook. Their aims are to maximise connections between 'people with means' and 'people in need'.

Each Waterworker is given a mobile phone, preloaded with a custom Waterworks J2ME application that allows photos to be taken and stories to be recorded. These can then be shared to partners and friends on Facebook. By demonstrating how their funds are affecting the community, it is hoped to inspire partners/friends to donate and continue supporting the work. Personal notifications to donors can also be sent via the application creating a genuine link between an individual Waterworker and their supporting Facebook users.

This social approach enables a whole community to build and support each Waterworker in a way that could not have been done before. These people's dynamic experiences, stories and activities can be enough to influence a small circle of friends and their friends' friends...

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"Information on Exempt Accommodation & DWP Review was very informative, but also commend your approach in delivering workshops/conferences in a proactive way, and use of email and your website as a public resource"
P.C. - The Hyde Group